Lord_Capulet

About Me

Let me be brief. I am a Male Human who enjoys Legos, reading history and good fiction, and playing pretend the grown-up way through stories and costumes.

I am a servant of the Living God, a Civil Air Patrol Senior Member, a trained public speaker, a proud Whovian, a Mandalorian in training, a fervent Browncoat, a bannerman of House Stark, a gun nut and blade enthusiast, an Airsoft Close-Quarters fighter, an amateur cook, a beloved son, and a protective older brother.

Responsibilities in the offline world often drag me away from this beloved forum, but when there is a good comic to be read, some punctuation to fix, or an author that needs some big words of vague encouragement...I shall be there.

"I must apologize, Inquisitor Meliora, but Silvius of Appledale is missing," Brennus replied promptly. "We were just organizing search parties to find him and a number of other unaccounted-for Venatori. If the Inquisition is actually interested in helping us with such a matter, we would not refuse the assistance." He quirked a brow. "Silvius was last seen in a town south of Kyjovia... Sivan and Asti," he nodded to the pair, "were planning to go there and find out what happened."

Kate shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not here in an official capacity, I’ve just known Silvius since I was little. I thought he was just being paranoid, but he even paid me to come help him…”

Then some kind of shambling undead staggered up to them. Kate’s shortsword was halfway out of its scabbard when the thing smiled at her. That was new. Then, it started talking, which shamblers definitely didn’t do.

"If you'll excuse my questions, Inquisitor." He smiled again, this time slightly more warmly. "Did you get this invitation from Silvius himself? Or through a messenger? It would help to know when you last had contact"

The Inquisitor slowly stood down, though Bullseye was still on high alert, hackles up and growling at mistress’ target. Sword was coming out, that meant biting time. Mistress loved biting time so much. He would bite all the nasty things for her, especially walking dead persons, no matter how bad they tasted.

Kate replaced her sidearm and commanded her dog to sit with a snap, then an outstretched index finger before answering, “By Zeus’ underpants, you’ve been through the wringer, haven’t you? Sorry, thought you were a bloody shambler there. He just used a messenger. Got the letter a couple weeks ago. Came with two whole Aurei, which told me he was serious, so I set out immediately.”

Greet him properly, dummy. You said you’d play nice, even if Silvius may not have trusted everyone here. Kate extended her hand in greeting, though with visible trepidation. Her demeanor was less than genuinely friendly, like a shy child angrily being forced to spend time with distant relatives. “And I’m Kate, again. Who might you be, Mister?”

It was then that another Venator, this one heavily armed and armored, butted in.

"And why exactly did Silvius invite you?" the Venator said, glancing at the Inquisitor "I agree with Brennus that we appreciate your assistance, but I for one would like to know why the Inquisition wants to stick its nose into Venator Business."

Kate sneered up at him. “Because like I said, I’ve known Silvius since I was a kid, and he asked me to help him solve a problem that scared him. So I’m not sticking my nose into anything as an Inquisitor, I just didn’t have anything else to wear, big boy.” Murder flashed in her eyes as a thought occurred. “Though it seems he may not have trusted all of you, if he was desperate enough to pay outside help. You got something to hide under that pretty helmet of yours?”

As the meeting drew to a close, a figure armored in shadow approached Castle Greywatch. Her right hand gripped the sling of the crossbow over her shoulder, while her left was fidgeting idly with the pommel of the void iron shortsword dangling from her hip. Each step she took was nearly silent, yet she moved with rapid purpose and a stern, almost murderous focus in her eyes.

She drew to a stop within bowshot of the drawbridge, looking around her feet for something she had lost. When whatever she sought did not present itself, her frown eroded into a scowl. A sharp whistle left her lips, followed by a harshly lilting voice like a gorgeous harp being used to bash someone's head in.

“Bullseye, where’ve ya run off to? Get your arse over here!”

The patter of four small paws drew steadily closer, until a happy little Pointer came into view, tongue and ears flapping as he went. He was clearly overjoyed to have been summoned by his mistress, an emotion the Inquisitor clearly did not share.

“What, were you chasing squirrels again? Keep up, or I’ll tie your chubby neck to my wrist.” Bullseye gave no indication that he understood this threat, and simply wagged his tail as he looked up endearingly at the irate woman. She grumbled under her breath, and continued on her way, with Bullseye falling into formation by her heel.

Before the Inquisitor could even be challenged by the guard in the gatehouse, the portcullis opened and disgorged a disgruntled platoon of some kind. They wore no blue cloaks or silver arrowheads, and many of them seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Frustration, fear, but also some tinges of regret seemed to ooze off of them, even the creepy, sneering one who addressed her as he passed. “Looking to join up, Inquisitor? There’s plenty of openings for you now, but you’re probably better off sticking with your current career.” He received no words in response, but did see a very, VERY rude gesture before she stormed past, out of his field of vision. The Venator guarding the gate peered down at this exchange, then wisely decided not to challenge this mystery woman who seemed intent on...whatever she was seeking.

As the black leather and void iron-clad mass of anger entered the castle, her dog rushed slightly forward, sniffing the air. Mistress seemed unsure, even anxious, so he would help her find her way, like a good boy should. Lights and voices up ahead, that meant other people! Mistress liked meeting new people, right? He immediately halted, crouched with a front leg coiled, and pointed his snout with all his might in the direction of the main hall...where they were already going.

This drew an exasperated sigh from his mistress. “Yes, thank you, Bullseye. I was already headed that way, you stupid git.” She passed him up, snapped her fingers, and the dog came to heel again, panting and wagging his tail in glee at how helpful he was being. The voices in the great hall grew clearer and more worried, and the Inquisitor could now see some kind of stage that had been erected. What the hells is that for?, she pondered silently. Are these buggers branching out into acting now? Silvius should’ve mentioned that, I’d have come a lot sooner to watch them practice.

A wolfish grin snuck onto her face at the absurdity of the thought. She paused in the doorway, surveying the remaining Venatori conversing amongst themselves or gathering into cliques. Alright Kate, first impressions time. These aren’t the quitters you saw outside, so look friendly and professional, just like Marcus taught you. She straightened her back and shoulders, tried to cock a friendly half-smile, and removed her sallet, letting her straight, crimson locks fall, framing her flame-scarred face. The door was already open, but she knocked on it anyway so they wouldn’t be too surprised at her presence.

They’re obviously having a hard time, so don’t insult ‘em. Say something funny and endearing. “Top o’ the morning to ya, sadsacks!” Nailed it. “Inquisitor Kate Meliora, at your service. Hope I’m not interruptin’ whatever you’re rehearsing, but I think I just walked past your stagehands.If you need help rounding ‘em back up, I charge very reasonable bounties.” Still grinning impishly, Kate continued to lilt, “Any of you lot know where I can find Silvius of Appledale? He asked me to meet him here, all mysterious-like.” She punctuated this remark by flippantly waggling her gloved fingers before her, her helm tucked under one arm.

When I saw "roundish helmet" that you could stick a decal to, my first thought was of a basic helmet with this old visor, but then I thought that might not have the right shape.

So, I scrolled through the Bricklink parts catalog for different helmets, and found this one and this other one, neither of which would require a lot of modification/trimming, but still may not have the right shape or, in the case of the former, would be hard to stick a decal onto.

*shrugs* Hopefully that at least narrows down the possibilities for you.

Indeed I am, which was another reason I went for a character outside the Venator faction. Figured some different perspective might add a bit more fun to the mix. Or violence, since I'm playing Kate, but the two aren't always mutually exclusive. Mwahahahah.

I'm currently studying all the bios I linked to last night, and doing my best to help our DM wherever I can, but we still start when she says we're ready, and not a moment sooner. Thank you all for your patience, I hope you will feel it has been rewarded when the campaign starts in earnest.

Egads, you're right, Ocelot! I haven't seen a character this critical to both lore and marketing since Orrimarko's pruny face first appeared! Hopefully this guy is here to do more than fix the copier. (That's a reference to Robot Chicken, only look that up if you're old enough. Yes, that means you.)

The next question is, what critical role will the mighty Therm Scissorpunch take in the Star Wars universe? Comic relief? An epic fight scene? BOTH?!? Only time will tell, but with a name that epic, I have only the highest hopes for this character.

Thank you for the feedback! That would certainly explain where most of Marcus' frustration went. Or came from, during their training and early career together. Kate's backstory hasn't been worked on nearly as much as Marcus', as stated above and evident in Maverick's critiques, but the back-and-forth as Marcus' polar opposite has been tumbling around in my head for years.

Kate originally started out as a joke, a riff on the played-out "my parents are dead because I want to be Batman" backstory which should deeply traumatize player characters, but too often gets briefly mentioned and then ignored. So I said to myself, "what if someone really young went through that kind of mental and emotional trauma, and changed very differently than expected? What if it not only made them callous and cold, but also sent them spiralling toward insanity?" Thus, Kate was born. Constantly tap-dancing on the brink of madness, worthy of both pity and fear. If you're not sure whether to give her a hug or throw her in a cell, then I've achieved my goals for writing her.

This sounds like a splendid undertaking! I'm guessing VIPs would also need to stick to your fantasy universe's lore? Because I might have to design something from scratch, but hey, more fun for both of us. I've been playing around with ideas for different officer uniforms using existing parts or decals, and the idea of some kind of Admiral on leave really sounded fun for my VIP at the arena. I'll gladly ask further questions or brainstorm with you here, or in PMs, whatever suits you best.

Thank you for doing this project, especially on a yearly basis! This is going to be fun to help with and watch as it grows.

Huh, that's actually pretty close to some of the older Lego weapons and pieces, like those big, clunky but carve-able swords from that one Knight theme.

I also got a kick out of how they seem to be pitting the industrial might of the humans and dwarves against the druidic magic and entish allies of the pointy-eared hippies *cough cough* elves, instead of the usual orcs/trolls or just evil humans.

All in all, I concur with the desire for more Lego fantasy sets. I jumped at the chance to get the Medieval Market Village set for my medieval fantasy wants needs, and Nightstalker's idea to expand the City idea for this adaptation would get so much of my money. Plus Ambad's factions, despite how much fun I have making things like that from existing pieces, it'd be cool to get more unique items and mounts like we're seeing in this knockoff.

Lord_Capulet will be at long last rejoining Errant as my sounding board and personal assistant for this campaign (I'm not calling you my squire, Cappy, so stop asking), and will do his best to fill in for me if needed.

Someday, I will be worthy of the title. Some day.

For now, I'm honored to help you keep this show running as best I can! It'll be nice to get back into the swing of things before I start running my own campaigns again.

I feel that with the type of story that this campaign has (i.e. murder mystery, plus Brennus and Caid having history), this is going to be almost impossible to do, but I'm going to try and follow this rule anyway.

The rest of that quote specifically said that this rule applies to real life. Characters can feel whatever you like about each other and other people's characters, that's how character development works. Our DM just doesn't want any resentment at in-game treatment to be carried over into OOC interactions. Remember,

Anywho, I will be signing up with my second oldest character, Kate Meliora! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Cappy's actually bringing more than one player character into Errant! (outside the freeroam, of course.) You may have been asking yourself, can this guy come up with any PCs besides human Inquisitors and dwarves? The answer: Not really! (Though I did try reallyhard to come up with a Venator, but every concept I had felt rushed and sub-par.)

But fear not, Kate has good reasons to be in Castle Greywatch, one of which is that I wanted to reintroduce and refine her for future campaigns, and none of which involved messing with Sareth's character, whom I only just read about in this thread. (Sorry, my friend!) That was just an unhappy coincidence, or a happy one, if you don't like Sareth. But why would you not like Sareth, you horrible person?

Appearance: Kate is arrayed with rather standard archer's equipment, something to this effect with the proper Inquisition livery. With fiery red hair (to match her dangerous, tempestuous personality) tied simply beneath her sallet, she is considered pretty by some, but not enough to be pursued if said admirer knows anything about her. I've always imagined her resembling Amy Pond from Dr. Who, if you'd like a visual reference. She has also carried burn scars on her right cheek and parts of her hands and forearms since childhood.

Additional Items: 3 silver-headed bolts, one clean bandage, and a small, silver locket engraved with the image of Artemis.

Animal Companion: A small pointer dog named Bullseye, after the distinct pattern he bears on both sides of his body. He is cheerfully oblivious and easily distracted, yet constantly seems drawn not only to whomever Kate has told him to track, but also delightful bouts of mischief. He is the epitome of dumb luck.

Kate first met Bullseye while on patrol near a Lowland farm. Kate, sadistic as she is, saw a poor, innocent puppy wandering the grounds, and decided to use its fuzzy bullseye for target practice. The wind sent her bolt astray, and the dog was startled from its previous musings and ran around in confusion, only to slam into the nearest human leg, clinging to it and pleading for protection. The naive youngster had no idea it had taken shelter with its would-be murderer, but luckily for him, Kate was now just bewildered as he was.

The pup kept clinging to her leg all the way back to camp, despite a great deal of threats, bribes, shaking, and kicking. Finally, Kate had to explain the whole situation to her commanding officer (a certain Marcus Capulet), who decided she must care for the poor creature as penance for her actions. She named the dog Bullseye, and still occasionally entertains the idea of shooting it. Bullseye still appears to be blissfully oblivious, and loves hanging around his grumpy owner.

Biography: Kate was born on a farm not far from Appledale, the youngest child and only daughter of a former Venator who lost his sword arm on his very first hunt, and the woman who made him feel whole and needed again. She and her brother lived a simple life, guiding the local lord’s hunting parties or swiping fruit from their neighbor’s trees when they were not working the fields. Kate never imagined doing anything else, until her parents chose to shelter a frightened orphan. The boy was twelve, as was Kate at the time, and was less than inclined to answer questions about where he came from or to play with the other children. Kate and her brother quickly grew bored, and left the boy in the care of their parents. It would be the last time she saw them alive.

As they feasted on filched plums, the two youngsters saw smoke emerging from the forest, in the direction of their house. Kate rarely speaks of what they found upon their return, though she takes great pleasure in recalling how she saw the orphan boy fleeing the scene, embers spouting in his wake, before she retrieved her father’s old crossbow and quiver from the smoldering house, to stop the magical perpetrator with a well-placed bolt. The boy’s pained cries for mercy fell on deaf ears as Kate callously watched him bleed out, her rage and grief blinding her to his suffering and the flames dancing around her. She had avenged what she saw as her parents' murder...but it did not bring them back.

Homeless and now orphaned themselves, the Melioras found what work they could, turning to poaching when times grew desperate. As they grew older, Kate’s brother grew more and more afraid of her dark, violent nature, and the two siblings drifted apart. Kate eventually found herself acting as a local guide for a roving Inquisition, and found an opportunity not only to put her skills to work, but seek vengeance against the force that had torn her family apart: magic.

While she chafed at the rigid structure and discipline of Imperial service, Kate’s skill with the crossbow and woodland navigation made her a valuable asset to the order, and her cold, pragmatic intellect made her an efficient, if somewhat problematic investigator. Despite her various character flaws, she worked her way through the ranks with wise, patient mentors and commanders, simultaneously learning to read as she studied Imperial law and the nature of The Condition. Now she is a proud agent of the Imperial Inquisition, ruthlessly pursuing enemies of the Empire wherever she can find them. The carefree girl she once was died in magefire with her parents and her innocence...flames that still burn within her eyes.

Campaign History: None, as of yet.

Relationships: Marcus Capulet - Close Friend

Personality: Sociopathic, sadistic, and generally unstable, Kate is the type of loose ballista that few Inquisitors are comfortable commanding. She is rough, direct, and thoroughly undiplomatic, with a dark gallows humor that even her fellow Ebonguards found disturbing at times. Time and discipline have tempered her rage and impulsivity somewhat, but she still warrants a great deal of watching, lest she get...bored. However, the rare few not repulsed by her brusque barbs can find an awkward, yet endearing loyalty that Kate seldom shows.

This has been an excellent continuation of the comic, and it's always nice to see the eponymous werewolves at the forefront of the story. I can't wait to see whose story gets updated after your break, though! Definitely something to look forward to. Well done!

Thank you so much! It was the first time I'd condensed those five or so years of writing into a single project (if you can call three whole pages "condensed," LOL), but it brings me joy to see that it's appreciated. Thank you for participating, as well!

I'd only stuck with a few characters because I know how treacherous my schedule can get, and didn't want to leave multiple campaigns hanging if I was doing something. But I agree, creating new characters can be a great experience, sometimes more fun than playing them. The thrill of creating something new, deciding what you want to do with this character, it's a rare joy.

Ah, so you started with how the character looks for Garandros. That's awesome! Using a minifig is definitely a bonus on this forum, and Hunted gave me plenty of chills and...emotions...cough, spoilers, cough...so overall, excellent choices for inspiration! I still haven't seen Logan, probably should soon.

Elnira sounds cute, and I'm intrigued by the idea of a smart pacifist in the harsh, often violent world of Wulfgard. I take it she's mostly comfortable in civilized areas, or did you apply her intelligence to survival in the wilderness?